Method of separating nickel and copper from copper-nickel mattes or materials



R. C. STANLEY METHOD OF SEPARATING NICKEL AND COPPER FROM COPPER NICKEL MATTES OR MATERIALS Filed Sept. 30 1924 Sept. s, 1925. 1,553,197

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.Elcctra Ly ti SIIIIIBS Rey/17W Cemcntwtz'on .Elcctroiy tic Tanks .zvwhel .Prcczlous I Metals INVENTOR Patented Sept. 8, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,553,197 PATENT ounce.

ROBERT C. STANLEY, OF STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO'THE INTERNA- TIONAL NICKEL COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N, Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD or snraaarme NICKEL Application filed September 30, 1924. Serial No. 740,842..

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ROBERT C. STANLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Staten Island, Richmond County, New

York, have invented 'a new and useful Improvement in Method of Se arating Nickel and Copper from Copperickel Mattes or Materials, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact-description.

copper and nickel and the producing of commercial copper and commercial nickel from copper-nickel mattes or materials.

The drawing submitted herewith shows a preferred form of flow sheet employed in connection with my process.

In describing my process 'in its preferredform, I will consider it as starting with a nickel-copper matte obtained in any well known way from materials containing nickel and copper. These mattes, which are usual- 1y Bessemer mattes, contain var ing proportions of copperand nickel; an the separation of their contained metals as commercial nickel'and copper, prior to m invention (described in United States atent No.

1,351,877, dated September 7,1920) was a long and expensive process involving a large number of steps. The process of said patent greatly reduces the number of steps and the expense of the process.

My present invention is desi further reduce the number 0 steps and cheapen the process, while yet enabling 'me to recover the precious metals of the platinum group. v

In carryin out .my process in its preferred form, smelt the copper-nickel matte in a cupola furnace with an alkalisulphide terial which will produce an'alkali sulphide. In practice, I prefer to use niter cake as a relatively cheap material for this purpose, this being a crude bisulphate of soda.

. The smelting furnace in which this operation is carried out is preferably provided with a forehearth for separating the slag from the molten sulphide. .The molten sulphides run continuously from the forehearth into large pots, where separation takes place. In these pots, the copper tops containing some nickel material, and the nickel bottoms containing some copper material, may be allowed to solidify; or after separation 1 two layers of sulphidesin the pot. Mv invention relates to the separatmg of ed to still or a sulphide of an alkali meta1, or a mawhile the top is still molten, the top may be transferred in molten condition to the next operation.

- During the period of settlin and separation-in these pots, nickel sulp 'de containing some copper sulphide, together with precious metals of the platinum group, will settle to the bottom, so that there will be The upper layer consists ofimpure sulphides of sodium copperand iron, while the lower layer consists of impure nickel sul hide containing some sodium, copper an iron sulphides, and the various metals of the platinum group.

Whether the separation isin molten: or in solid form, the. nickel bottoms are preferably charged into 'a second smelting cupola, where they are again. smelted'with an alkali sulphide or the sulphide'of an alkali metal or a material WhlCh will produce an alkali sulphide. In this case, again, I prefer to use niter cake. The resulting molten sulphides are tapped into a vessel, where they are allowed to solidify, thus again separating the impure copper sulphide from the impure nickel sulphide,-again produc AND COPPER 'FROM COPPER-NICKEL MATTES OR I MATERIALS.

ing a copper top and a nickel-bottom. The. I smelting in this second cupola is preferablyv carried to such a point thattlie nickel bottom produced will contain not over 3% of copper, and preferably about 1%.

Instead .of separation in p'ots as above described, I may take the molten sulphides from the 'forehearth of the first smelting furnace to a separating furnace, such, for

example, as a reverberatory furnace, in which the sulphides are kept in a molten condition by heat supplied from the fuel of the furnace.-

Two or more of these separating furnaces are preferably employed, for a group 'of matte-smelting cupolas, so that each se arating furnace may be" operated on' the 11- and-empty method. That 1s, one separating furnace is supplied with its charge' of molten sulphides from the smelting cupolas and this charge is allowed to settle, for example, during one shift of eight hours. While the separation into tops and bottoms is taking place in this furnace, another separating furnace is being charged with the molten' sulphides for the same purpose.

These separating furnaces may be of any desirable. type, provided sufficient heat is supplied to kee the sulphides in molten con ition and a ow the separation thereof. I also find that if these materials are held in the separating furnaces for some time, the sulphide. ofv sodium will become oxidized and rise to the surface as sulphate of sodium, and may be removed and utilized in the smelting cupolas. In practice, I prefer to use this recovered soda in the second smelting o eration. I

During t e period of settling and separat ing in the furnace, nickel sulphide contain-x ing some copper sulphide together with the precious metals of the platinum group will settle to the bottom. so that there will be two layers-of sulphide in the furnace.

It will be understood that after either or both smelting operations, I may separate the impure co per sulphide from the impure mckel su phide, either in molten condition or by allowing them to solidify. I may do away with the second smelting operation and take the first impure nickel bottoms in either solid or molten condition and subject them to the further steps which. I will now describe.

The separated nickel bottoms from either the first smelting operation, usually contaming about 6% of copper, or from the second smelting operation, containing not more than 3% of copper and separated in either molten or solid condition, are taken to a converter. For this purpose, the converter shouldbe lined either with basic or neutral material.

' a sufiicient quantity of impure nickel sulplied is sufiicient to cause a reaction between the nickel oxide and nickel sulphide to form metallic nickel.

In this operation, I prefer to reduce the sulphur to of 1%, though the operation may be carried on in order to still further reduce the sulphur. For example, I may carry on the operation until the sulphur is reduced to substantially 01%,. thereby producing commercial nickel containing av small percentage of copper.

, In the preferred form of my process, I

form the impure metallic nickel coming from the Bessemerizing operation nto 1m- If' the converter already contains pure nickel anodes. These impure nickel anodes, which preferably contain not over 3% of copper and also contain the precious metals of the platinum group, are then purified by an electrolytic process.- In this process, the impure nickel is used as an anode from which the nickel is plated upon the cathode, which preferably consists of a sheet of-pure nickel, the precious metals enterlng the slimes produced in the electrolytic cells I froin'which theyare recovered. Theliquor of the cell is preferably continuously ClI'Clllated through a cementing tank or tanks for removing the copper, the purified solution passing back to the cell. removed from the solution, if desired, by any well known method.

Now, considering the copper. tops, separated in either molten or solid condition from the sulphides of the smelting operations, these tops are taken directly to a con- 1 verter or converters andblown in one operation to commercial blister copper.

This blowing or converting may be done in converters lined with basic, neutral or acid refractory material, but I preferably employ basic material for this lining, as by so doing the sodium sulphate produced by the oxidation of the sodium sulphide in the tops is recovered and may be used as flux in the separation furnace, thus effecting a further economy. In practice, I prefer to thus treat the im- .pure copper tops from the first smelting operation, but if I employ two smelting Operations, I preferably take the impure copper tops from the second smelting operation, whether the method of hot or cold separation is employed, and charge them back into the first smelting operation. These copper tops serve the important function of enriching the copper content of the tops from Iron may be the first smelting operation so that they 7 may be blown direct into blister copper. They also serve to supply alkali sulphide for the first smelting operation, and in many cases'will furnish a'sufiicient amount of this without fresh additions thereof in the first smelting. Copper reverts may also be added to enrich the resulting sulphides in copper.

The advantages flowing from my present invention lie mainly in the great saving in the number of steps employed, and in the time, labor, metallic losses and overhead expense.

As above stated,while I prefer to employ two smelting operations, I may use only one such operation and other variations may be made in my process without departing from myinvention.

I claim:

1. In the separation of nickel and copper from mattes and materials containing them,

the steps consisting of smelting the matte or material until nickel material is obtained by separationwhich contains not over about 6% of copper material, and then blowing said nickel material directly into nickel containing a small proportion of copper,

3. In the separation of nickel and copper from mattes and materials containing them, the steps consisting of smelting the matte or material, separating the product into copper tops and nickelbottoms, again smelting the nickel bottoms, again separating the copper tops and nickel bottoms, and then blowing'the nickel bottoms in 'molten conditi'on directly into metallic nickel containing a small proportion of copper.

4. In the separation of nickeland copper from mattes and materials containing them, the steps consisting of smelting the matte or material, separatlng the product into copper tops and nickel bottoms, againsmelting the nickel bottoms, again separating the copper tops and nickel bottoms producing nickel material containing not over 3% of copper, and then blowing said nickel bottom material directly into metallic nickel containing a small proportion of copper.

5. In the separation of nickel and copper from mattes and materials containing them, the steps consisting of partially separating the copper material from the nickel material by furnace treatment, thereby producing nickel material containing a proportion of copper material, then blowing the said nickel material directly into metallic nickel containing a small proportion of copper, and

subjecting the metallic nickel thus produced to electrolytic refining.

6. In the separation of nickel copper from mattes and materials containing them, the steps consisting of smelting the matte or material, separating the product into copper tops and nickel bottoms, again smelting the nickel bottoms, again separating the copper tops and nickel bottoms, then blowing the nickel bottoms in molten condition directly into metallic nickel containing a small proportion of copper, and then subjecting the metallic nickel thus produced to electrolytic refining;

7. In the separation of nickel'and copper from mattes and materials containing them, the steps consisting of partially separating the copper materialwfrom the nickel material by furnace treatment, thereby producing nickel material containing a proportion of copper material, then blowing the said nickel material directly into metallic nickel containing a small proportion of copper,

subjecting-the metallic nickel thus produced to electrolytic refining, and recovering the precious metals of the platinum group from the slimes of the electrolytic process.

8. .In the separation of nickel and copper from mattes and materials containing them, the steps consisting of partially separating the copper material by furnace treatment and formation of copper tops and nickelbottoms, and then blowing said nickel bottom material directly into metallic nickel containing a small proportion of copper and blowing the copper tops into commercial copper.

9. In the separation of nickel and copper from mattes and materials containing them,

the steps consisting of smelting the matte or material, separating the product into tops and bottoms to produce a nickel bottom my hand.

- ROBERT o. STANLEY. 

